United Airline Pilot Who Praised October 7 Terrorist Attack Is Still Flying

A United Airlines pilot suspended after describing Hamas’s October 7 attack as “resistance by a brave people” is still flying passengers. New reports come days after a flydubai copilot attacked his captain in a plot to crash into Tel Aviv’s airport, and nearly three years after United stopped answering questions about its own pilot’s status. I covered Ibrahim R. Mossallam’s posts in November 2023. The following month, I noted that United wouldn’t say whether he was back in the cockpit. I took their silence to mean he probably was. Now there’s reporting that he’s flying. What’s still missing is an explanation of what United investigated and what convinced them he should return. 🚨BREAKING: UNITED PILOT WHO DEFENDED OCT. 7 STILL FLYING A United Airlines pilot who described the October 7 attack as “resistance by a brave people” and said it was “not unprovoked” is still flying passengers for the airline. Ibrahim R. Mossallam was temporarily removed from flying duties after the post sparked outrage, but later returned to the cockpit. Since then, he has continued posting strongly anti-Israel statements. Mossallam also serves as Vice President of the Board of CAIR-New York. I asked United a simple question: Why is he still flying passengers? As of now, United has not provided an official response. Watch the full report below. @united — Libby Blanca Alon לבי בלנקה אלון (@libby_alon) October 5, 2026 United Announced His Removal Then Quietly Brought Him Back Into The Cockpit On November 20, 2023: United confirmed it had removed Mossallam from service with pay while looking into the matter. Then they stopped responding. Mossallam also serves as Board Vice President of the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York. Last month, DansDeals reported that United still employed him. Live and Let’s Fly reported this days ago as well. A June 30, 2025 order in Ruben Sanchez’s lawsuit against United and his union recounts Mossallam returning to flying after about a month. The Flydubai Attack Raises The Stakes On Pilot Vetting On September 30, the copilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv attacked his captain with a crash axe. The wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door, passengers intervened, and other pilots traveling aboard brought the aircraft safely to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Reports say the copilot intended to continue toward Ben Gurion Airport normally and crash into a terminal there. He chose to work for flydubai because it served Israel and had planned the attack before joining the airline. Oman Air had already removed him from flying duties after extremist materials were discovered while he was a copilot trainee in 2024. There’s no evidence I’m aware of that Mossallam has threatened passengers or plotted an attack. The flydubai case does, however, demonstrate why an airline needs to investigate warning signs involving support for violence before entrusting someone with an aircraft. United suspended him, and hasn’t said how the concern was resolved. I Don’t Need My Pilot To Agree With Me About Israel My starting point is that Israelis and Palestinians would ideally be able to live safely, with a Jewish state and a Palestinian state. Civilian deaths are horrible. Criticism of Israel’s government is entirely legitimate. But every past attempt at peace by Israel has been met with terror on civilians. You may believe that the Israeli response to October 7th was somehow disproportionate, though the event was far greater relative to the size of their population than 9/11 was to ours. But then you need to spell out what response to the massacre of families, sadistic rapes, and abduction and torture of children and the elderly would have been justified? Mossallam’s October 7 post went further than criticizing a government (and he did it before there was even a response). He described the attack on civilian Jews as brave resistance. That raises genuine questions about his judgment and how he values human life. I defend freedom to express abhorrent opinions. But I don’t want to put my family on a flight operated by someone who publicly justifies rape, murder and torture. United should explain his current status, what review preceded his return, and how they assess the concern raised by those statements. They can do that without publishing a personnel file. And the Air Line Pilots Association should come clean on any defense they put forward as well. Topics on this page